Dolphin Whisperer
by Secret Painter
Summary: There are people who have a form of Wild Magic, such as those that work with the Palace horses. This story follows a girl who lives along the coast of Tortall. She's called the Dolphin Whisperer.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Before we begin, it should be acknowledged that none of these people are real. They have been weaved together from other stories and a wild imagination. This tale takes place, not in a world like our own, but in a magical world, in the land of Tortall. The capital is Corus, where the palace is. Things here are similar to medieval times. Our tale follows prince Raould and his cousin Gary of Naxen. Both are trained knights of Tortall and have gone through the Ordeal of Knighthood.

Prince Raould has the looks of his father, but the hair of his mother. His eyes are the bluest sapphire orbs possible; this came along from his father King Jonathon of Conte. But Queen Thayet passed on her midnight black, curly hair to Raould. Young Gary of Naxen is gifted in looks like his cousin, but has chestnut brown hair and amber-honey eyes. Both boys are of the age of eighteen and have achieved their shield. Under King Jon's allowance, the two boys have left the Palace, and their home of Corus, for an adventure around Tortall so that the young heir can understand all that he will inherit.

Now, our tale does not begin with the journey of the two boys, but of a young girl who grew up along the coast within the district of Pirate Swoop. She is the daughter of a fisherman, and is a mage. A mage is a person who is a magic carrier, a sorceress you could call her. But she is not that type of sorceress. She is a dolphin-whisperer. Her magic is of the sea, she has knowledge of the deep unknown, and shares a special connection with the mammals of the ocean.

She has hair as golden as the setting sun, her eyes are the color of green-turquoise. When a person looks into their depths, they are reminded of the ocean and of the fabled mermaids that live there. This beautiful girl lives alone with her father, after her mother died of the Seating Sickness. While her father goes out at dawn to fish, she takes care of the house and farm. She does her daily chores and prays to the Ocean god that her father will return safely each day.

She grew up with the young heir of Pirates Swoop as her best friend. Alianne, daughter to Tortall's Spymaster and the first lady knight in over a hundred years, George Cooper and Sir Alanna respectively. Alianne plans to follow her father's footsteps and is very skilled in the less-respectable things. Alianne has "strawberry blonde" hair and green-hazel eyes. She loves to teach her friend, the dolphin-whisperer, all that she knows. In a way, she educates this young mage, born to a fisherman-widower.

Her name is Kali, and this is her tale.


	2. Chapter 2 Part 1

**In the Beginning**

**_Part I_**

It was just past dawn; the bright sun had just passed the horizon and welcomed the new day. A young girl stood in the ocean's surf as the sun rose, enjoying the morning's calm. Her golden hair shimmered with the sun's rays and her turquoise eyes glittered with thought. She had just seen her father off to sea for the day's catch. If one looked out to the Southeast, her father's boat could just be made out along the horizon.

Kali let a sigh escaper her lips. She longed to go out to sea one day with her father, but he was too afraid that a storm would hit while she was out in the open and that he would lose her. He had already lost the love of his life, her mother, from the Sweating Sickness that hit when Kali was just an infant.

With a deep, calming breath, Kali took a few more steps into the ocean until the water was to her ankles. She stood up straight and closed he eyes, sinking into herself and her magic. It was always there, her magic. Whenever she closed her eyes she could see it. It shined with brilliance and power; it was the exact same color as her eyes, green-turquoise.

A smile graced her lips, lighting up her sun kissed face. She could remember the first time she found out she had magic. It was a day much like today. A beautiful spring day about seven years ago…

●

_Seven years ago through the eyes of __Numair__Salamin_

An exasperated sigh escaped the mage as he rode his horse alongside his friend's horse. Alanna, the Lioness, the King's Champion, and the first Lady knight in over 100 years, glanced over at her tall, lanky friend folded up into a saddle. The sight brought a smile to her face. Numair Salamin, the greatest sorcerer known to man, a horse man he was not.

"Alanna, please tell me why you are making me make this journey with you? You know I don't like horseback riding."

"Well, Araam,"

"Don't call me that. You know I changed my name." Numair snapped at his friend. His tone caused Alanna's mare, Dark Moon to start fidgeting.

Alanna ran a soothing hand over Dark Moon's neck. She had forgotten how cranky her friend got when he had to travel. "Numair, calm down, if you hadn't complained like a school boy I wouldn't of had to use your childhood name." The red-haired fired at her Gifted friend. "I'm having you make this journey because, for one, Thom won't stop complaining until he can talk to you about some experiments he's been working on. But the other reason is because I think my daughter's friend is a mage."

"Alanna, you have the Gift too. You could have tested Alianne's friend as well as I can."

"But it's not the Gift she has" whined Alanna.

Numair looked over at his frustrated friend. "You mean you think she has Wild Magic? Like Daine?" questioned the excited mage. To think, another Wild mage. To have the Gift is pretty common, especially among the nobles. The lower classes' Gifts usually were more connected to healing. But Wild Magic? That's a totally different area. Where the Gift can use changes and spells and years of studying to be able to comprehend everything, Wild Magic is of the land and its creatures.

Daine, or Verladidaine, is the only known Wild mage. She can talk to all types of animals, heal them, and even shape shift; though she found out that her father was a lesser god, Wyener, the god of the hunt. There are various branches of Wild Magic, such as the horse masters at the Palace stables. Those that are horse masters are able to understand the "People of the herd" such as horses and cows.

"No, I don't think she's like your wife. But she does have some sort of magic." Alanna replied thoughtfully, snapping Numair from his thoughts.

"What do you mean? Alanna, what makes you think she has a form of magic, whether it be the Gift, Wild Magic, or a form of Wild Magic?" Numair questioned his friend. This whole idea of there being a possiblility for another Wild mage put him on edge.

Alanna softly smiled, she could hear the eagerness in her old friend's voice. Numair always loved a good mystery. "Well, what makes me think this girl has a form of magic is the stories that Ali tells us about her friend. She's always going on about how her friend brought her to visit the sea lions. One day they swam with dolphins. Another day they played with the otters. I think there is something different about this girl."

Alanna glanced over at her traveling partner. He was deep in thought looking at his gelding's mane. A silence fell over the pair as they made their way to Pirates Swoop, home to the Lioness and her family.

After a few moments had passed in silence, Numair broke it. "It reminds me of when Daine first came to Pirates Swoop with the training camp."

"Hmm," was all that Alanna could supply as they drew closer to their destination.

**To Be Continued...**


End file.
